April 22, 2013 1:51 pm

And the winners are….

The long-awaited list of the 226 people chosen in an April 8 lottery drawing to be available for entry-level Tacoma Longshore Union work is now available on the websites of International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 23 and the Pacific Maritime Association. The PMA represents shipping lines, ports and port terminal operators that hire longshore workers.

The lottery attracted more than 15,000 total entries from people looking to gain entry to some of the most highly-compensated waterfront jobs in the country.

The 226 people picked won’t earn instant high salaries or generous benefits. If they successfully complete training and pass a criminal background check needed to access Tacoma waterfront terminals, they will be eligible to receive waterfront job assignments only if all other available “A” and “B” level and identified casual casual workers are already working.

If the demand for longshore workers grows, those unidentified casuals could be advanced to regular longshore union status. That process could take months or several years depending on the growth of the shipping industry at the Port of Tacoma.

Regular longshore workers in Tacoma make pay averaging nearly $100,000 a year and earn a generous benefits package that includes fully-paid health care and a long list of holidays.

Friends and relatives of longshore workers and PMA member company executives had a higher chance of selection in the recently-completed lottery.

Longshore workers and PMA officials each were furnished with a single “interest card” which they could provide a friend or relative. Those interest cards totaled 1,100. After those receiving interest cards submitted those cards with their name and contact information included, PMA and Longshore officials drew 113 names.

The public likewise could submit cards with their names and contact information to the lottery. Some 14,000 public cards were received. From the that group, officials likewise drew 113 names in a separate lottery.

The interest and public cards drawn were combined into a single box, and then were drawn out one-by-one and assigned a number according to the order in which they were drawn. That number will determine the order in which those workers will be trained and ultimately the order in which they may be promoted upward in the union ranks.

All of the winners will be notified by letter that their name was drawn and advised how to proceed forward with a medical examination and training.

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